Ensuring Children Don’t Go Hungry on Weekends Each Friday during the school year, the Freestore Foodbank sends packs of food, known as Power Packs, home with students to ensure they have something to eat on weekends. Each Power Pack contains nearly a dozen food items, which are shelf-stable and kid-friendly.

What’s Inside a Power Pack? We think it’s important to provide children with food that is easy to prepare. A few examples of what you might find in a Power Pack include sun butter, whole grain cereals, fruit and vegetable juices, sunflower seeds, apple oatmeal bars, complete pasta meals and other healthy options.

Research shows that hungry children are more likely to be absent from school [i], lack focus and energy [i], and be vulnerable to illness [ii].

Nourishing Bodies and Minds That’s why Power Packs are such a vital part of the work the Freestore Foodbank does in the community. 5,000 children in more than 100 participating schools receive Power Packs from the Freestore Foodbank each week. The children are primarily between the ages of six and 12 and live in Hamilton, Clermont, Clinton, Pike and Scioto Counties in Ohio and Campbell, Kenton Boone and Grant Counties in Northern Kentucky.

Get Involved in the Fight against Childhood Hunger You can help children receive the proper nutrition they need to help them succeed in life. Make a donation to the Power Pack program by adopting a child or a school. $5 will help feed a child for a weekend. $200 provides a student with Power Packs for the entire school year. For $8,000 you can sponsor a Power Pack school for the year. If you are interested in sponsoring an existing school partner site, please email Mindy Hammer at mhammer@freestorefoodbank.org.

Volunteers can assist with assembling Power Packs at the Freestore Foodbank’s Mayerson Distribution Center in Bond Hill. Opportunities are available throughout the school year.

The Bigger Picture The Power Pack program is part of a larger national effort by Feeding America, with more than 150 member food banks distributing weekend packages across the country. This program has provided nutrition and hope to more than a quarter of a million American children annually for the last 16 years.

Becoming a Power Pack Site While we are currently unable to accommodate additional Power Pack sites, school principals are welcome to submit an application that we will keep on file in the event that additional resources become available. Please email completed applications to programs@freestorefoodbank.org.

For more information about the Power Pack program, please email Heidi Becker or call (513) 482-7294.